Shampoo board



Aug. 1940- A. B. ELLIS 2,212,016

SHAMPOO BOARD Filed oct. 10, 1938 40 a comfortable position it is usually impossible Figure 1 R l i of a 40 for her to relax completely, as is generally desirm embqdymg Invent-Ion able. In an effort to avoid such disadvantages, F1gure 2 1S section taken on the lme 2 2 of strips or pads of sponge rubber or other material Flgure 1; and have been placed over the edge of the shampoo Figure 3 Ha longitudinal View on a reduced board, but they have been only partially 5110- Scalei 45 cessful in providing complete comf t for t In the selected embodiment of the invention Patented Aug. 20, 1940 i E STATES PAENT E SHAMPOO BOARD Alice B. Ellis, Arlington, Va.

Application October 10, 1938, Serial No. 234,129

1 Claim. (01. 14-159) This invention relates to equipment for beauty The object and general nature of this invenshops, hairdressers and the like, and is more tion is the provision of a shampoo board having particularly concerned with equipment used for means for supporting the head other than on the shampooing, rinsing and like operations, but it nape of the neck, but without interfering with 5 is to be understood that my invention is not to thorough and complete shampooing and rinsing be limited to such uses. operations, whereby the customer is entirely According to the prevailing practice at the comfortable throughout the whole time and does present time in shampooing womens hair, the not have to hold her head up in an uncomfortcustomer is seated in a chair with the back of able position for any appreciable length of time the latter adjusted so that the customer is in a to permit the operator to reach the hair at the'10 semi-reclining position, her head being supback of the neck. Also, it is a feature of this ported on the forward part of a shampoo board invention to provide a shampoo board so conwhich drains into an adjacent sink. The shamstructed as to fit against the nape of the neck poo board in common use at the present time is a farther down toward the shoulders than is practrayor pan-like article having its forward end tical in the present practice and also to support 15 recessed to form a curved throat section upon the head at a point or points spaced upwardly Which the p 0f the neck rests, the recessed from the nape of the neck, thereby relieving the portion being flanked by forwardly e te neck of a major portion of the weight of the head,

parts which are disposed on either side of the hil yet permitting th perator t Shampog customers head and cooperate with other andrinse conveniently and easily the hair at the 2 tions of the board more directly under the cusback of the neck It is also a feature of my tomerfs head as to catch Wate? and 9 vention to provide a shampoo board which not duct it to a sink or other point of disposal. In only provides adequate and omfortable r rinsing the Water is legally applied to all parts for the head of the customer being treated, but of the P In any Smtable manner as by also permits her to occupy a morev reclining posi- 25 Spray In Order to Wash out tholloughly the tion. This reduces materially the tendency to lather from all parts of the ham Usually splash water onto the customer and eliminates however shampoo board as used at t the necessity for shampoo capes and the like in pres,ent tlme does afford full protectmn most cases. Further, pads of sponge rubber and agamst Water Splashmg fi Customer. and m the like are no longer necessary since little weight shampoo capes and s1m1lar protective devlces is thrown on the neck have been devised with View of keeping the These and other objects and advantages of person and clothmg of the custemer from gettmg my invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art after a consideration of the following de- Also, it has been found'in practice that the v v customer is not entirely comfortable when her tafled (.iescnptlon of p'rereired .embofilment of my mvention, taken in con unction with the I head is resting on the nape of her neck against 0 a d the recessed part of the ordinary shampoo board, 1 nyl f so thateven though reclining and otherwise in n e drawmg' customer. Moreover, with the ordinary shamhere Shown to illustrate the Principles f my poo board 11-, is n y, impossible to thorougmy invention, the reference numeral I indicates the shampoo r in th h i at'the nape of th shampoo board in its entirety, being more or less neck without asking the customer to raise her 10f Common'form V Q D- d S des? 50 head, a position which is 'difiicult and extremely and 3, a discharge end 4 d a Curved orretiring to maintain for any length of time, but cessed throat portion 5 formed to receive the which is, nevertheless, essential according to n of c o e A ea h s de of the throat present practice if the operator is to do her work 5 the shampoo board has forwardly extending 5 satisfactorily. sections 7 which in use are disposed alongside the customers neck to prevent water from dropping down onto the customer.

According to the present invention, I provide a pair of head rests or supports 9, each consisting of a curved arm formed of any suitable material, such as pressed metal or the like, and having a foot portion Ill riveted or otherwise fastened to the shampoo board and a flattened end ll. As best shown in Figure 2, the parts In of the head rests or supports 9 are fastened to the edge portions of the shampoo board, providing a clear unobstructed space underneath, as will be pointed out below. The head rests 9 preferably are finished like or to harmonize with the shampoo board proper, and if desired the arms 9 may be formed of the same material as or integral with the shampoo board.

The flattened ends H are of smooth contour so as to provide no opportunity for the customers hair to catch or become entangled thereon. Each end H has secured thereto a cushion of sponge rubber or the like, as indicated at l2, and preferably the cushions l2 are cemented or otherwise permanently secured thereto. The cushions are small enough to provide substantially uninterrupted access to all parts of the head but large enough to provide a comfortable support for the head.

The ends ll carrying the cushions l2 are not only spaced from each other, but both are spaced a considerable distance longitudinally of the board from the throat portion 5, the advantages of which will be explained later.

The manner of using my improved shampoo board will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the above description. The shampoo board is supported in any suitable manner back of the chair in which the customer is seated, either by being secured to the chair itself or supported on a separate stand. The back of the chair is swung down to a reclining position and then the shampoo board is placed so as to drain backwardly into a sink or other point of disposal. The customer then lays her head back onto the head rests 9 of the shampoo board with the throat of the latter well down on her neck below the hair line. From Figures 1 and 3, it will be seen that the head rests or supports 9 are spaced longitudinally of the shampoo board such a distance from the recessed throat section 5 that the laterally spaced ends of the supports 9 re ceive the head of the custom-er practically directly underneath the central portion thereof, and not on the muscles of the neck at the back of the head. Thus the customers head is supported practically entirely on the head rests 9 and little if any weight is sustained on the nape of the neck, as in the present practice, at the throat of the shampoo board. The customer can therefore relax the muscles at the back of the neck, since they are not called upon to support the weight of the head, yet the shampoo board fits snugly at the throat section so that there is no danger of water running down the neck. It is therefore an important feature of the present invention, not only to provide head rests for a shampoo board but also to space them in the required relation to the throat section that the customer's head is supported generally centrally, without strain, while the throat of the shampoo board fits snugly against the back of the neck well down toward the shoulders.

By virtue of my invention the customer is thoroughly comfortable and can be placed in a more reclining position than at the present time, thus contributing to the comfort of the customer and, moreover, permitting the disposition of her head farther back on the shampoo board, as indicated in Figure 3, which results in much less likelihood of the customer getting wet by water splashed or dripping onto her. At the same time the operator is enabled to shampoo, rinse, or otherwise treat or manipulate the hair with the customer thoroughly and completely relaxed. The operator has access to the hair at the back of the neck by reaching in between the head rests 9, it being seen that the arms curve outwardly so as to provide ample room for this purpose. The pads l2 cover only a small portion of the head and even these parts may be reached easily and conveniently by having the customer turn her head slightly to a sidewise position on the head rests, but it is not necessary to have the customer hold her head up in an uncomfortable and strained position, as is required at the present time. Also, there is no likelihood of Water running down the back of the customers head or neck, which frequently occurs with present equipment, especially when the customer is requested to hold her head up while the operator 30 washes or rinses the back of the neck. This cannot happen with the shampoo board of my invention, first, because it is not necessary to ask the customer to hold up her head, and second, because she can be placed in a more reclining position with the shampoo board in a more advantageous position to catch all rinsing water or the like.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be .40

understood that my invention is not to be limited to the specific details shown but that, in fact, widely different means may be used in carrying out the broader aspects of my invention. For

example, instead of being separate parts rigidly.

secured to the shampoo board, the head rests may be formed integrally therewith, or they may be provided with clamps or other means permitting their ready attachment to or detachment from existing shampoo boards, and if it so should be desired to provide even greater access for the operator to reach the hair at the back of the neck, one or both of the head rests may be hinged to swing into and out of position.

What I claim, therefore, and desire to secure by .1 55

Letters Patent is:

A shampoo board comprising a tray section having a recessed neck-receiving portion and a pair of head-receiving supports fixed to the outer edge portions of the tray section, said headreceiving supports being spaced apart laterally and disposed such a distance longitudinally of the tray section from said neck-receiving portion that normally in use the patrons neck engages said recessed portion of the shampoo board a substantial distance down toward the patrons shoulders while said spaced apart supports engage the back of the patrons head substantially underneath the central part of the head.

ALICE B. ELLIS. 

